Video games and their related industries (e.g., video gaming) represent a large percentage of the worldwide entertainment market, with some projections having video game global revenues exceeding revenue from the movie industry in the near future. The kids growing up playing video games are now adults (young and old) influencing where their entertainment moneys are to be spent—in the world of video game entertainment.
Video games are played anywhere and at any time using various types of platforms, including gaming consoles, desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile phones, etc. Once a niche market directed to a small number of children and young adults, video games have become increasingly popular across generations, and over time has become an important part of popular culture.
A new dawn of video games is emerging in the form of eSports, otherwise known and described by competitive video gaming or professional video gaming In the world of eSports, professional gamers gather in an arena to play a video game, typically in a multiplayer online game (MOG) format that is supported through a local area network or internet. Individuals or teams of individuals battle it out live in the eSports arena in front of a live audience, where a broadcasting team injects energy and excitement while giving play-by-play of the action within the MOG. A video production team is working frantically backstage projecting views into the gaming environment of the MOG onto arena sized video display panels so that the audience is able to watch the action within the MOG, as viewed and experienced by the professional video gamers. Also, live cameras that are focused on the audience or the professional gamers may project onto the arena video display panels, as directed by the video production team, to further excite the audience. The live audience participates in a live event, not unlike those attending a traditional professional sporting event (e.g., basketball, baseball, football, boxing, mixed-martial arts, etc.).
In addition, the views presented on the video display panels as generated by the video production team may be live streamed to a wider audience over any network, such as broadcast, internet, mobile, etc. While the live audience may number in the thousands (30+ thousand), the streaming audience can number in the millions (e.g., 30+ million). For a video game having over 90 million casual gamers, a world championship featuring that video game will attract millions of streaming viewers, both in the live format as well as post event viewing. To give a sense of the popularity of an eSports event, a world championship held in 2016 drew a live audience of approximately forty thousand, and a live streaming audience of over twenty-five million. The game play of the professional gamers continued to be viewed even after the live event was completed.
Various technologies supporting eSports are being developed to give the live and remote audience the best viewing experience.
It is in this context that embodiments of the disclosure arise.